North West London

PRIMARY EDUCATION

The Willow Primary School

“Pupils work and play together and enjoy very positive relationships” – Ofsted May 17 T he Willow Primary School is situated in the heart of of Broadwaters Inclusive Learning Community where we share a state-of-the-art site with The Brook Special School and with the Broadwaters Children’s Centre. Underpinning everything we do is our wholehearted belief in our inclusive ethos. We believe that if a child cannot “make it” with us, then they will not be able to “make it” in any primary school anywhere in the country. I became head teacher of Broadwater Farm Primary School – now The Willow – in January 2008. At that time the school was rated “satisfactory” by Ofsted, having previously had a judgement of “serious weaknesses”. From that very first day, my vision was to create a school that would give every single child a remarkable, unique, creative, diverse, aspirational education that would equip them for whatever the future could throw at them. Despite the many obstacles along the way, I have held true to that vision. Indeed, it has taken less than a decade for The Willow to leave behind Ofsted’s judgement of “serious weaknesses” to gain an “outstanding” judgement in May 2017. The Ofsted report glows with praise for the school, but my favourite quote unequivocally captures the very essence of our school: “Staff share the head teacher’s philosophy of ‘we never give up on any child’.” Our community is beset with challenges on a daily basis; however, amid all of these difficulties our school provides our children with stability, consistency and warmth – in other words, a safe haven. We value every single one of our children and, no matter what emotional baggage they bring to school, we find a way to support them. Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham – known to be one of the most notorious estates in the country. We are part

Senior leadership team, from left to right: Natasha Beckles, Duwan Farquharson, Dawn Ferdinand, Edyta Ballantyne, Sarah Harris

REPORT CARD The Willow Primary School » » Head teacher: Dawn Ferdinand » » Based in Tottenham, Haringey » » Centred in the Broadwaters Inclusive Learning Community » » No. of pupils: over 600 (school

and children’s centre) » » Shared site with The Brook Special School and

Broadwaters Children’s Centre » » www.thewillow.haringey.sch.uk

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